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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney continues to hold a commanding lead over the rest of the Republican presidential field in the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire, according to a new survey by Magellan Strategies that was conducted during the two days after Monday night's debate at Saint Anselm College in Manchester.

Romney, whose solid front-runner status appears to have been bolstered by his strong debate showing, had the support of 42 percent of Republican and independent voters who are likely to vote in the 2012 GOP primary.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann were tied for second place with 10 percent of the vote each, while former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin -- who did not participate in the debate and is not a declared candidate -- came in fourth, earning 7 percent of the vote.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani -- another undeclared candidate -- came in at 6 percent, while former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty had the support of 5 percent of likely voters. Rounding out the field, 5 percent of New Hampshire voters backed former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, while businessman Herman Cain and former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman each came in at 3 percent. Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum was in 10th place at 2 percent.

Though early presidential debates are often characterized as relatively unimportant affairs in the long run, a surprisingly large number of New Hampshire voters (54 percent) said they watched the debate on either CNN or local station WMUR. Romney and Bachmann -- both of whom were nearly universally praised for their debate performances -- appear to have benefited most from this level of early engagement from voters.

The Magellan poll offered some potentially ominous news for Pawlenty and Huntsman -- the two candidates who have been widely regarded as the most viable alternatives to Romney in the establishment wing of the GOP.

Pawlenty has been criticized for declining to stand by a previous line of attack against Romney's Massachusetts health care plan when pressed to do so during the debate, and the former Minnesota governor had a favorability rating of just 42 percent in the poll, while 29 percent of voters viewed him unfavorably.

Though he did not participate in the debate, Huntsman has staked his campaign largely on delivering a solid showing in New Hampshire and has begun to visit the state regularly. Huntsman's ties to the Obama administration appear to be having a negative impact on his image, however, as only 14 percent of Republicans viewed him favorably, while 36 percent had an unfavorable view of him.

Following the recent exodus of almost his entire senior campaign staff, Gingrich produced New Hampshire numbers that were perhaps even worse, as only 29 percent of voters viewed him favorably, while 62 percent viewed him unfavorably.

The results of the poll, which appear to suggest a large opening in New Hampshire for someone to claim the label as the "Romney alternative" in the Granite State, may encourage other potential GOP candidates who have not yet entered the race to consider doing so.